The present invention relates to a container or can for foods, drinking water and the like, which is collapsible and can readily recover its shape after being used.
Recently, various kinds of foods, drinking water and the like have been processed to be contained in metal or plastic containers and cans. In accordance with the rapid increase of containers and cans, a great number of used empty cans are discarded thus producing a pollution problem as to how to deal with the voluminous use of containers. In fact, endless numbers of cans and containers are being thrown over the countryside, particularly defiling the appearance of mountains, parks and seaside areas and creating a monumental pollution and environmental problem.
One of the reasons for this environmental pollution problem is that the conventional containers cannot be collapsed by the power of an ordinary man since they are made of metal and have a sturdy structure. Another reason for such a problem is that since the volume of the prior art containers cannot be significantly reduced, even after they have been used, the vehicle transportation medium required to dispose of such containers is significant. Thus, the number of vehicles, for example, for collecting used containers is substantially the same as that for transporting filled containers and, accordingly, the collecting efficiency and disposed of used containers is very low. Although pressing machines for crushing conventional containers have been sold and used, they are expensive to purchase and difficult to economically maintain, thus they are not effective means for reducing or solving the environmental pollution problem created by voluminous used containers.
An object of the present invention is to provide a container made of sturdy metal which can be easily collapsed into a flat shape to permit easy collection after use and thus solve the above-identified problem.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container which may be smoothly collapsed. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a container which can be press-molded at a low cost.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter; it should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.